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Peter swung above the streets, soaring through the city that never sleeps. He couldn't shake the troubling thought that Nellie was back in his bedroom probably feeling unimportant to him; he hadn't even heard what she'd come to talk to him about before he ditched her.

But being a hero meant there was times he had to make decisions, sometimes difficult ones. This particular decision seemed more rational; something terrible was about to go down in Chinatown, and he felt as if he were in a race against time to make it there.

Blue and red flashing lights along with the piercing sounds sirens alerted Peter at a distance, telling him he was close. He shot one final string of web and plummeted towards the scene, landing on his feet on the hood of a cop car.

Three policemen jumped back at the sound of Peter's feet banging against the metal of the vehicle. One when drew his gun in a flash, but immediately lowered it upon realizing it was Spider-Man.

Peter threw his hands in the air as he clumsily backed off of the car, "Sorry, sirs, uh—"

He still hadn't really gotten the hang of this—being a known hero.

"I've got this!" He assured them, giving them a brief thumbs-up. "You guys can probably go home now, actually—"

A flash of white light rumble through the restaurant across the street, the glass windows shattering. Bystanders shrieked, though they were presumably safe behind the barriers police had formed from this side of the street.

Peter gave a quick salute to the policemen and slung a web above one of the broken windows, then used his strength to send himself gliding inside. He rarely seemed to use doors.

Once inside the restaurant, Peter crawled from the ceiling and down the wall, taking shelter behind the bar area. Peering over, he tried to get a look at what was going on.

He saw a man, who appeared human, but was colored like that of a photo negative. His skin was midnight black, but seemed to have an under-glow. His eyes, eyebrows, and hair were bright white, like a blacklight. It wasn't rocket science for Peter to determine this was the man the news reported as a 'Mister Negative.'

Across from him, was a man, definitely human. He was obviously of Italian descent, his accent thick as the two men argued. A tattoo on his neck showed the letter M, representing the Maggia, Peter assumed.

Usually, this wasn't the kinds of fights Peter usually took part in. He handled crime—the little guys, as Mr. Stark would say—and left the inhuman battles to the older, more experienced heroes.

As he crept around the side of the bar, though, he knew he was in for a lot more than the news station had let on. In fact, the news reporter had said Mister Negative was attempting to gun-down Luchino Nefaria, who Peter had identified as the man with the M tattoo. However, there was no gun in the superhuman's hands. In fact, there was no weapon at all, aside from an electrical glow circulating through his right fist.

Peter gulped, planning his next move. He needed to locate Nefaria's young daughter, if she was even here like the news said. Still crouched, he moved across the room silently through the shadows. It seemed as if all power inside the building had been cut off, leaving nothing but the city lights to illuminate the room from the broken windows.

A creak in the corner caught Peter's attention and he snapped his head sideways, narrowing his eyes. He spotted her.

A small girl, no older than six or seven, was hiding in the shadows, yanking on her pigtails nervously. Peter rushed to her, forgetting for a moment how creaky the wooden floor of the restaurant could be.

Before he could reach her, he felt a blow to the lower back and was sent clear across the room, slamming face first into exposed brick. He fell to the floor, pain shooting up his spine. The little girl screamed, backing away from him into the corner, as far into the dark as she could cower.

"If it isn't our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man," a voice snickered from above.

Glowing eyes glared down at Peter as he picked himself up from the floor. He hadn't expected that, and he was definitely paying for it. He could almost hear Mr. Stark's voice in the back of his head, demanding that he get out before he got hurt. But, alas, Mr. Stark wasn't here. None of the Avengers were. And that meant one thing:

Spider-Man was taking this fight on single-handedly.

"Who are you?" Peter questioned him, now standing to his feet.

No more blows to the back. If Mister Negative planned on trying Peter again, he would be prepared this time.

Luchino Nefaria stood back, away from the two, "He's a drug experiment gone wrong, man." He spat, a cigarette placed between his cracked lips.

Peter sucked in a breath through his mask, unsure of what exactly he'd just walked in on. Was it a fight? Were they allies? Was this some sort of drug trade?

Mister Negative paced back and forth in front of Peter, his glowing eyes never leaving Peter's figure.

"What did you think was going to happen?" He sneered, an evil grin spreading across his face. "That you would come in here and save the night? You have no idea—what this man and the Maggia have taken from me."

Dramatic, much? Peter thought.

Nefaria rolled his eyes and tossed his cigarette on the floor, then stepped on it with his heavy boot,
"You know I had nothing to do with what happened to you, my old friend. It was all a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding," Mister Negative spat his attention turning to Nefaria behind him.

Peter watched as the aura of light around Negative's fist intensified. He felt his blood pressure rising; what exactly was this man capable of, and what did he plan to do?

"Your boss, Simon Marshall, used me! He did this to me, against my will. I was normal—and now I don't even know who I am anymore. My memories are all a blur, and when I look in the mirror, I don't even recognize myself," he barked through gritted teeth.

"What do you want?" Peter asked, diverting his attention away from Nefaria.

Peter wasn't sure what his plan was, but he knew he had to get the child out before anything went down. She'd probably seen enough as it was.

Negative lunged towards Peter, but Peter dodged him, and shot a web at his glowing fist, but the webbing snapped as soon as it touched the light. Peter inhaled, the smell of the burnt webbing filling his nostrils.

Negative chucked, his non-glowing hand closing in around Peter's throat. This wasn't something Peter couldn't get out of—he could—but he needed Negative to believe he was stronger than him in order to have any chance of getting the girl out.

Nefaria shook his head, "You can't do it, man," he stated, looking at Negative. "You're not going to kill Spider-Man. And you're sure as hell not going to kill me.

Negative tightened his hold on Peter's throat, causing him to gasp for oxygen, "Neither of you are who I want. I want Simon Marshall."

Nefaria's brows knit together, "Then why are we here, Negative? What's the point of this?"

Peter found that his confusion was fading as he put together the pieces. The motive was clear—Negative was the product of some sort of experiment, and it hadn't gone correctly according to his anger. Nefaria was notoriously known for his part in the Maggia—a group that dealt with about every illegal and violent action known to man. Lastly, Nefaria's child was here, meaning Negative must have caught Nefaria off guard. Maybe even while he was just having dinner with his family.

Negative's demands, however, were unclear. Peter struggled to put all the pieces of this puzzle together.

"Bring him to me," Negative instructed, rage apparent in his tone. He released Peter from his grasp and Peter backed away, trying to assess how he could bring this guy down if his webbing was going to be useless.

In the blink of an eye, Negative had moved to the corner that Nefaria's daughter had been in, and took her small hand in his left hand, the one with no light or glow about it.

Nefaria tensed, but didn't make a move towards them. He feared his abilities, clearly, though Peter hadn't truly seen what all he could do.

"And I would hurry with my request, Nefaria, because your daughter's life depends on it," He said with a sinister smile.

Peter jumped onto one of the high beams in the ceiling and he shot a web at the child, tangling her torso in webbing. With all the strength he could muster, he began reeling her in.

Negative's grip on the child remained as he used his right hand to send a wave of what Peter could only describe as negative, electric energy flying towards him.

Dodging this, Peter swung down, his feet striking Negative in the stomach, sending him tumbling back, the girl's hand slipping out of his.

"Alyssa!" Nefaria yelled, rushing for his daughter as Peter pulled her into his own arms. "What are you doing? She's my daughter!" He questioned Peter, his face red with anger.

Peter shook his head as the girl wrapped her arms around his neck, "You're a criminal. You've murdered dozens; I've seen the news. You're a wanted man. Doesn't look like you'll be winning Father of the Year anytime soon," Peter argued, his heart thumping.

Negative, now without the girl, up and ran. Peter attempted to shoot webs at him but Negative dodged them all or raised his electric hand to singe the material. Peter had to make a choice—go after Negative and leave the child with Nefaria, who would just take her and attempt an escape from police, or let Negative go and turn Nefaria into the police to get the young child out of this terrible situation.

The choice was clear.